Archive image: A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter sits on the ramp at McGhee Tyson Air National Base, Tennessee awaiting duty.
The aircraft were staged in East Tennessee to respond quickly, if needed, to the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Kendra M. Owenby, 134th ARW.
LOUISVILLE, Tenn. – A Tennessee Army National Guard 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion UH-60 Black Hawk aircrew conducted the rescue of an injured hiker in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. March 25, 2026.
Shortly after 3 p.m., the Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency were notified of an injured hiker who needed immediate medical assistance and rapid transport to a nearby hospital. The hiker was injured along the False Gap Trail in a remote area of the park southeast of Gatlinburg, near the North Carolina border.
Once the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency was notified of the possible mission, Tennessee National Guardsmen assigned to Task Force Smokey assembled a rescue aircrew and readied a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter for flight. After the mission was approved, the aircraft departed Joint Base McGhee-Tyson at about 3:40 p.m., flying directly to the rescue site determined by Park Service Rangers.The UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter aircrew arrived at the rescue site in roughly 12 minutes, and the Tennessee Army National Guard flight crew began rescue operations. The aircrew consisted of two pilots, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Thomas McKnight and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andre Salas; the crew chief, Sgt. Gabriel Weston; and two flight paramedics, Sgt. 1st Class Giovanni DeZuani and John Sharbel.
Once the hiker and rescue crew were located, Weston used the hoist to lower Sharbel from the hovering UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to them. Once Sharbel was safely on the ground, he performed a medical assessment of the hiker and prepared the patient for hoisting into the helicopter. After a few minutes of rendering aid, the hiker and flight medic were hoisted into the Black Hawk helicopter that was hovering overhead. Once everyone was safely aboard, the aircraft flew the patient to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. First aid continued throughout the flight.
At about 4:30 p.m., the UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter aircrew landed at the medical center, where medical personnel rushed the patient into the emergency room. Once the patient was safely in the care of emergency medical services (EMS), the aircraft returned to Louisville and landed just before 5 p.m.
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